I have never had any trouble with getting myself into my scrapbooks. To be honest, I have more trouble getting other people into my scrapbooks. And I think that’s because I’m relatively young (compared to the average scrapbooker), single, and have a furbaby instead of a real growing human one. So the majority of my scrapbooking is about me or the dog or the trips to places I’ve been. I’m not documenting another person’s life, just my own, so it’s a lot easier for me to be in my scrapbooks. And honestly, I wouldn’t be able to scrap if I didn’t have all the photos of me anyway.
But I can see how this may be a challenge for other scrapbookers who either document their children’s lives or have been documenting others’ lives for so long that now that they have the opportunity to scrapbook for and about themselves, they don’t know where or even how to begin.
And it’s really not that hard, in all honesty. You just have to focus the lens on yourself. So here are some ways of getting yourself into your scrapbooks.
Let’s Take a Selfie
What I tend to do most often than not is take a little photoshoot with myself. And it’s not the regular selfie-type, hand extended in front of me photoshoot. It’s the get out the tripod use the self timer sort of photoshoot. I love these because then I end up with a bunch of different photos of myself that I can use in different ways for different things. They go up on my blog, social media, and of course, straight into my scrapbooks. It’s just so easy for me to play around with my supplies then plop a photo of myself onto the page. Sometimes I don’t even feel like I need to tell a story. The fact that I took and have the photo alone is the story. This is me now…or this was me then. Going back and seeing myself in my scrapbooks is always such an exiting thing. I instantly remember when and where I took the photo and it’s always nice to look back and see how much I’ve changed.
Document Your Goals
I always scrap my goals and dreams. Especially at the start of my year, you’ll see my One Little Word and my list of intentions everywhere. They’re in my planners, scrapbooks and art journals. I find this is another great way to keep yourself relevant in your scrapbooks. Again, I’m not really telling a story–per-say–but I am sharing a bit of myself at that moment in time, which I can always look back on.
If it helps, you can always keep a smaller scrapbook–like a 6×8 album–simply dedicated to you. It could be your OLW album or an “all about me” album. But just a place where you feel comfortable documenting your intentions, goals and such that’s separate from your family scrapbooks. Keep this one just for you.
Scrap Your Favorites
So, I always always scrap my most favorite photos. And sometimes I scrap the same photo more than once (yeah, I’m one of those). But I find when you only scrap your favorites, the more you’ll get more of yourself in your scrapbooks. It doesn’t even have to be a photo of you. The fact that the photo was your favorite and however you express that in your scrapbooks says a lot about who you are, so in essence you’ve put yourself into your scrapbooks. I feel like this is a lot different when you’re scrapping for someone else because you end up telling their story and not yours. So try documenting a lovely photo of your favorite ride at Disneyland or a stylized photo of the current stack of books you’re reading. Whatever it is, make sure it’s your favorite and make it about you.
